Christine de Pizan (1364?-1430?)
EDCI 658
Fall, 2006
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Christine’s Life and Times
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Was born in Venice, Italy around 1364
Her father was a lecturer in astrology at the
University of Bologna
King Charles of France invited her father to give
him medical and astrological advice
Christine’s family moved to Paris
Her mother had the conventional view of her
daughter’s role in life
Her father was her teacher in French, Italian, and
some Latin
Christine devoted her book, The Long Road to
Learning (1403) to her father
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Christine’s Life and Times
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She married twenty-five year old man Etienne
de Castel chosen by her father at the age of
fifteen
They had three children
She was widowed at age of 24; her father also
died
Christine began writing poetry using fixed forms
of verse and assembled a collection of 100
ballades by 1402
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Christine’s Life and Times
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She was considered the first true feminist by
criticizing Jean de Meun’s Romance of the Rose
She wrote to the Queen protesting the unjust image
of women portrayed by the book
She also believed that women could play the roles
beyond traditional domestic sphere
Her letters were considered as the forerunner of
the modern essay
Moral Educator: She also wrote Moral Teaching
and Moral Proverbs and Mutation of Fortune
Biographer: She wrote biography of King Charles
V., which was the first “secular biography”
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Christine’s Life and Times
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She also wrote The Book of the City of Ladies
(Inspired by Augustine’s City of God)
The Book of the Three Virtues
The Book of the Feats of Arms and Chivalry
Lament on the Evils of the Civil War
Christine’s sun became a royal secretary later and got
married and had three children of his own; however,
he had to flee into exile when the English occupied
Paris
Christine retired to live with her daughter in the abbey
of Poissy where she wrote Hours of Meditation on the
Lord
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Christine’s Importance for Education
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She wrote in a wide range of topics: morality,
government, war, peace, history, education
She wrote in many genres: poetry, letters, essays,
biographies, autobiographies
She educational ideas were beyond her time:
liberal education for women; learning by doing;
using rhyming verse to help them memorize
Wrote extensively on moral education
In her book The Book of the Three Virtues, she
advocated a school for all women to attend
including the lower class women
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Christine’s Importance for Education
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She encouraged women to dominate their own lives
rather than letting life dominating them
She also encourage women to develop their talents in
order to make contributions to society
Another innovative educational idea is to use
children’s natural curiosity and treat children with
kindness
She emphasized that moral education is to serve the
purposes of civic responsibility
In her Book of the Body Politic, She wrote education
in three parts: (1) princes, (2) nobles and knights, (3)
scholars, merchants, artisans, and laborers
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Christine’s Importance for Education
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Advocated physical education
Agreed with Cicero on oratorical skills
Emphasized the values of hands-on activities and
learning from the examples of the elders
Emphasized hat virtue as the basis for ruling
Emphasized moral and civic education
Believed that knowledge should be shared in
order to obtain its full value
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Example of Christine’s Writings
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“Son, I have no great treasure
to make you rich, but a measure
Of good advice, which you may need;
I give it hoping you’ll take heed”
“If you knowledge would pursue
A life of books is then for you
So make sure that by your hard work
You’re not inferior to any clerk”
“Another’s wealth
do not envy,
The envious in this
life may see
The flames of Hell
and feel its pains
A burden heavier
than chains”
-Citied in Murphy,
2006, p. 135
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Resources about Christine
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http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/march99/pizan3.html
http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/book-sum/pizan1.html
http://home.infionline.net/~ddisse/christin.html
http://www.csupomona.edu/~plin/ls201/christine1.html
http://faculty.msmc.edu/lindeman/piz1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_de_Pizan
http://xenophongroup.com/montjoie/pizan.htm
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/pisan/Christine.h
tml
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/christinedepizan/
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Resources about Christine Cont.
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http://www.arts.ed.ac.uk/french/christine/cpstart.htm
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/pizan.htm
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03723a.htm
http://columbia.thefreedictionary.com/Christine+de+
Pisan
http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/pis
an.html
http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~schess/courses/christine/
http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=cdpi
san
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